Lesley and Keith Rockell get together for their 60th wedding anniversary with their four daughters Kelly (left), Shona, Leigh and Glenys.
Diamond wedding celebration in Kerikeri
Keith and Lesley Rockell from Kerikeri celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at the end of April.
Ask her what the secret to a good marriage is and Lesley says she doesn’t know.
She says her husband is calm and she not so calm some of the time but they don’t argue, they just get on with life and, she adds, “he has been a wonderful husband”.
They met at a Young Farmer’s Club barbecue held by the Puketona River and she says when she met him he was “just another guy”.
“I was a teacher and lived in a hostel in Kawakawa. We had a farewell party for one of the girls and he was there again and at that stage I thought he was quite nice and started going out with him.”
They began married life on a dairy farm in Waimate North, even though Lesley had said she’d never marry a dairy farmer or a teacher. After 10 years they bought their own farm at Ohaeawai.
They had four children, three of them planned and seven years later along came a fourth daughter. Leigh, one of the girls, said she remembers what hard workers both her parents were.
“Mum did relief teaching, she was involved with Plunket and Red Cross, she did the flowers at Waimate North church and was heavily involved in various orchid clubs, both showing and judging.
“She let us bake in the kitchen and create an absolute mess and she was a taxi driver-extraordinaire getting us to sport commitments.
“We would go out with Dad and help him with jobs, he was always a gentle and kind man unless I was being mean to my younger sister, then I may have heard a raised voice.
“They both ensured we were fed, clothed, had a roof over our heads, did not use bad language and ate everything on our plates.”
Health concerns have slowed them down a little in recent years. Keith had a stroke 11 years ago and hasn’t been able to drive since and Lesley had a heart operation some time ago when she was 68 years old.
To celebrate the day they had a family get-together at Easter and went out to lunch with friends.
R. Tucker Thompson completes another season
The gaff-rigged, square-top sailing schooner that makes its home base at Opua has been plying Bay of Islands waters since 1985 and she recently completed another two seasons.
From brisk southerlies over Christmas to an entire month of smooth, blue waters and light breezes in March, the ship hosted over 4000 passengers with 90 daily sailings, 50 sundowner sailings and a “jumble” of school trips and private charters.
This year a record number of trainees came back to help on the ship for the summer season. Ten of those 12 trainees from the 2024 youth season who volunteered will have completed their target of five days’ work experience, while seven returnees from the 2023 season also came back to help out.
Former Tucker trainee Ella Sage has been supported with the inaugural R. Tucker Thompson-University of Waikato scholarship valued at $10,000. She is a former student of Whāngarei Girls’ High School who is now pursuing a degree in marine science.
The highlight of this summer season was taking TVNZ reporter Michael Holland of Seven Sharp out for a day sail in February and literally showing him the ropes. He introduced his story “in the shimmering still of a new day the ship is taking shape”, with shots of cleaning activity on board and sensitive clips filmed at sea level.
He interviewed some of the five trainees on board who were helping out for the summer sailing schedule.
This month the ship will head to Whāngarei to host two-hour harbour sailings targeted at community and primary-intermediate school groups. The ship’s company is now back in youth sailing mode.
Youth manager Kelly Hamilton was on the road in March promoting the opportunities for 14-to 18-year-olds to join the seven-day voyages. She spent some time with Whangārei schools during the Whangārei Careers Roadshow.
Jane Hindle, the Russell representative on the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board, is joining the Tucker board. She is a former executive trustee of the R. Tucker Thompson board that established the sailing trust nearly 20 years ago.
Russell properties come to the market
Commercial properties in Russell usually come on the market in ones or twos. But in a rare occurrence, a number of properties in central Russell have all come up for sale at the same time.
The properties are being sold on behalf of the estate of the late Dr Jack Phillips, who was originally from California. He was a dentist and property developer who was reputed to have a penchant for real estate and wine, not necessarily in that order. He also owned properties in Gore, Mataura and Queenstown.
There is what has been described as a diverse mix of assets, including tourist accommodation, retail space and residential homes.
Seaport Village is a collection of boutique apartments for sale. Traders Mall has a number of retail shops, a restaurant and a bookshop. There is a commercial property that has a liquor store, a restaurant and a rare five-bedroom holiday let.
In Church St, two roads back from the waterfront, there are two homes in the portfolio; one of them is on freehold title, with a live-in residential option or home and income possibilities.
The leases of the tenants of the properties are a mixture of long-term agreements and short-term arrangements. The total annual rental income is $120,831 plus GST and operating expenses.
The properties are being marketed by a director from Colliers in Whangarei, Megan McGregor, and Jimmy O’Brien, a director at Colliers Auckland North, which has a deadline private treaty arrangement closing on May 21, unless sold prior.
O’Brien says the two residential homes offer buyers multiple options.
“Both properties are currently rented, meaning there is existing income for the new owner while they plan their future moves, which may include living at the dwellings or continuing to tenant them.”
McGregor says they have generated a good level of inquiry from throughout New Zealand.
They are being marketed targeting New Zealand and those with “a strong interest in New Zealand real estate” through the usual print outlets like OneRoof, online and through databases.
Kenneth Green swung a knife 35 times, stabbing the victim he had been drinking with twice.